There’s much mythology about the Great Wall of China, one of which is whether it can it be seen from space. Contrary to popular belief, no… “Despite myths to the contrary, the wall isn’t visible from the moon, and is difficult or impossible to see from Earth orbit without the high-powered lenses used for this photo” (NASA).
There is also very little of the Great Wall of China, which was originally 21,196km in length, remaining. Only about 8.2% of the Great Wall is in good condition, partly as a result of natural weathing and partly from locals removing bricks from remote sections of the wall to sell to tourists. The Great Wall of China at Badaling – about 60 km northwest of central Beijing – is one of the remaining sections of the wall. It’s considered the most representative and magnificent section of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty, and has been open to the public the longest (since 1957).
Badaling Great Wall is the best preserved and most representative section of Ming Great Wall, with a restored length of 7.4km. Being easily accessible from Beijing and offering easy walking conditions (it has been visited by 372 state leaders and VIPs, including presidents Nixon and Reagan, Prime Minister Thatcher, and Queen Elizabeth II) it’s the most-visited section of the Great Wall – and gets pretty busy!
Most of the visitors don’t walk very far, so as you continue along the wall you soon leave most of the crowds behind. Commanding a strategic position, Badaling was the first line of defence on the main pass between Beijing and the Mongol tribes north of the Great Wall and held a strategic geographical location in protecting Beijing. It was built in the Ming Dynasty (1505) and known as one of the Nine Forts under Heaven. The weapon in the foreground is a Chinese halberd (or Ji), a traditional multi-purpose polearm.
The entire 7.4km length of the Badaling Great Wall has been well-preserved, but in some ways more “modernized” than authentic, with brickwork replacing the original stonework. However, it does give a sense of the scale and design of the wall.
The wall was built with high stone slabs outside, it is 7.8 meters high on average, some even reaches 8.4meters. The base of the wall was built with more than 2000 large rectangular slabs of granite stones. It is about 6.5 meters wide and 5.7 meters wide on average on the ramparts. The wall is wide enough for five horses to gallop abreast and ten people to advance shoulder by shoulder. The outside of the wall is called rampart wall. The rampart wall was built with bricks as 1.7 meters high. For the purpose of defense, there are holes on the tip of the wall called watch-hole, and peepholes under the wall called embrasures. Inside the wall, there are low walls with one meter high called parapets, which can be used as railings.Â
ChinaTour
From the end of the reconstructed section you can see the wall continuing into the distance, but only the footing remains – much of the rampart wall are gone, as are the towers along the wall.
You can walk along the Great Wall of China for about 3.7km out of the 7.6km that has been reconstructed.
Getting to the Great Wall of China
There are at least 15 tourist-accessible sections of the Great Wall of China which have been restored, with walking lengths from 400m (Zhao Great Wall) to 20km (Jiankou or Arrow Nock) and 42km (Huangyaguan).
As well as trips by private car or tours from Beijing (about 1:30min drive), buses and trains service Badaling, which is in Yanqing District about about 75km northwest of Beijing:
- Bus 877 from Deshengmen (2:30min) – with a 1km walk from bus terminus
- Tourist bus direct to Badaling parking lot from Xuanwumen Railway Station, Chongwenmen Railway Station, Hepingmen Railway Station, National Museum of China Station and National Art Museum of China
- Beijing-Zhangjiakou intercity railway has CRH high-speed trains running from Beijing North station, stopping at the underground Badaling Changcheng (Great Wall) station – the world’s deepest underground high-speed rail station at a depth of 102m (30-40min)
- Line S2 of the Beijing Suburban Railway from Beijing North station (30-35min), which is a scenic/tourist train that can’t be pre-booked (avoid in peak season)
More information
- NASA – Great Wall
- Smithsonian Magazine – More than 1,200 Miles of China’s Great Wall Have Been Destroyed
- Rachel Meets China – Which Section of the Great Wall Is Best To Visit?
- China Educational Tours – Top Great Wall Sections
0 Comments